1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the general field of automotive accessory equipment. In particular, the invention provides a method and apparatus for carrying a personal watercraft on the bed of a standard pick-up or flat-bed truck.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Personal watercrafts have become very popular in recent years as substitutes for water skiing because they are less expensive, and easier to transport and store than regular boats. Normally, they are transported in trailers dedicated to them, in the same fashion as motorcycles and snowmobiles, which increases the cost of owning and operating them. The purpose of this invention is to provide an apparatus that makes it possible to load one or more personal watercrafts on the bed of a truck and safely transport them to destination, thus avoiding the cost involved with owning and maintaining a dedicated trailer.
Several patents exist that describe accessory equipment for carrying various objects on trucks and trailers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,257 to Parker (1984) illustrates a rack for mounting snow skis on the bed of a pick-up truck; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,082 to Evans et al. (1989) discloses a water ski rack for either truck, car or boat use. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,902 (1983), Lampeas shows a retractable, general purpose, load carrier for vehicles; and Rodder, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,431 (1971), describes another general purpose rack that can be used for hauling equipment in a trailer or a truck. U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,597 (1984) to Doyle and U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,019 (1991) to Sokn describe specialized racks for motorcycles and bicycles, respectively; while U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,433 (1976) to Reed and U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,768 (1991) to McNulty illustrate multipurpose apparatus for loading various kinds of equipment on the bed of pick-ups.
Nothing in the referenced patents teaches an apparatus that can be used for handily and safely loading and transporting a personal watercraft on a truck. Therefore, this invention is directed at providing such an apparatus, particularly with a view to the class of watercrafts sold by Kawasaki Motors Corporation under the trademark "Jet Ski."